San Miguel killed Meralco’s top four hopes following a 113-104 victory in the Season 50 PBA Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Friday night.
Though already assured of finishing as the No. 1 team in the elimination round, the Beermen refused to play lax, flipping things over in the second quarter before unloading 34 big points in the ensuing period to pull away for good.
And eventually, the reigning conference champions would chalk up their ninth win in a row–that, after back-to-back losses to start the league’s golden season.
(C) PBA Images
“A lot of people were thinking that this is a non-bearing game and we will just relax, but we respect the game and our opponents,” said Coach Leo Austria.
June Mar Fajardo starred with 24 points and 15 rebounds, continuing his fine play after tallying a triple-double in their 135-115 win over Terrafirma the last time out. The nine-time MVP also had four assists and three blocks.
CJ Perez rifled in 24 points as well, behind an efficient 52.6-percent shooting from the floor. Don Trollano delivered 21 points, including a four-pointer.
Jericho Cruz added 11 for SMB, which ended its elimination-round campaign at 9-2–its best record since going 10-1 in the 2024 Philippine Cup.
“We have to be consistent, as [part of] our preparation going into the quarterfinals,” said the four-time Coach of the Year awardee.
(C) PBA Images
CJ Cansino had 21 points for the Bolts, who finished with a 6-5 card and will have to wait for the results of Sunday’s games to determine their QF seeding.
Bong Quinto made 11 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. Raymond Almazan and Jeff Comia also scored 11 each, while Brandon Bates chipped in 10 markers and nine boards in the loss that ended their three-game winning streak.
The Scores:
San Miguel 113 – Fajardo 24, Perez 24, Trollano 21, Cruz 11, Teng 7, Tiongson 6, Ross 4, Brondial 4, Lassiter 4, Tautuaa 4, Cahilig 2, Mantua 2, Rosales 0.
Meralco 104 – Cansino 21, Quinto 11, Almazan 11, Comia 11, Bates 10, Newsome 9, Black 7, Banchero 7, Hodge 6, Reyson 6, Rios 3, Pascual 2, Maliksi 0.
Quarterscores: 29-25, 49-41, 83-66, 113-104.
